Archive for October, 2013

Today RME was named the winner of the West Africa Forum for Clean Energy Financing (WAFCEF) award. Over 70 companies entered the competition and RME was selected after three rounds of rigorous review which included submission of business plans, responses to questions posed by judges and face-to-face presentations.

The aim of WAFCEF is to facilitate investment in renewable energy infrastructure projects in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region. WAFCEF brings together West African entrepreneurs and clean energy companies with investment firms, banks and venture capital funds that are seeking clean energy investment opportunities in the region. WAFCEF partners include the Climate Technology Initiative’s Private Financing Advisory Network (CTI PFAN), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Banque Ouest Africaine de Développement / West African Development Bank (BOAD), the African Biofuels and Renewable Energy Company (ABREC), Sustainable Energy Fund Africa and the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID). Sponsors of the competition included the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), the Climate Technology Initiative Private Financing Advisory Network (CTI PFAN) and the Regional Clean Energy Investment Initiative (RCEII) of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

RME Co-Founder and COO Olivier Ceberio spearheaded RME’s competition efforts and commented “We were pleased to participate in the first edition of the WAFCEF business plan competition. Its unique focus on project financing is a perfect fit with our business development model and the team of outstanding mentors helped us tailor our business proposition to meet the needs of potential investors. We’re now fully prepared to launch our renewable energy technology into the ECOWAS marketplace.”

RME Co-Founder and CEO Bill Staby said “we’re excited because this award may enable us to play a meaningful role in President Obama’s “Power Africa” program which he announced in July this year and which pledges over $7 billion of investment over the next five years to increase energy production and access to energy across the sub-Saharan region.”